Day 186: Sandi Silva
“… sometimes it might just take me … doing something simple as, you know, sweeping the floor … taking that pressure off of me and doing just a menial task. And it’s like I’ve sort of cleared up the cobwebs in the process and regained my focus …”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Sandi, for agreeing to be part of the Project today, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Sandi Silva: Absolutely. I am Sandi Silva. I am founder of Dynamic Support Solutions. We’re a virtual assistant team working with coaches, speakers, and authors.
Toni: Well, thank you, and Sandi, when you think of that word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how do you think that happens?
Sandi: I like to think that I inspire my clients and my team as well in the work scenario. I like to inspire my clients by brainstorming with them and working with them on how to take their businesses, their projects, the things that they love, maybe the ideas that they’ve had that they couldn’t figure out how to put into motion and help them find that direction in how to put those things in place and get the ball rolling.
With my team, I like to inspire them by giving them every opportunity to further their education in the industry that we work in, encouraging them to take more classes, do reading, giving them opportunities on new projects when they have interest in things. So those are areas that I really try to push and help out and give guidance and hopefully inspire people in the process.
Toni: Fantastic, and how do you think by doing that whether it’s with a client, your team, or even personally, how do you think you might help others to explore their own potential?
Sandi: I think encouragement is probably the biggest area as far as my, like, team and that kind of a situation, encouraging them and letting them know and having good discussions with them about what they really want to do. You know, anybody … I can give anybody a task, but if they are not passionate about it, they’re not going to be inspired about it, and I would rather help encourage them and help get them down the path of what they really want to do and help inspire them to find that direction.
With my clients, the people that we work with, are already so inspired and frankly inspiring, and that’s an easy path to walk, just helping get that information from them, find out what it is they really want to be doing, what is their passion, what are their goals, and then just letting them know that I am here to support that. My job is to help them figure out how to make those things happen, you know, and find the ways that we can make those things happen. I think that that is inspiring to my clients when they know that they’ve got the support in their corner that they really need.
Toni: So it’s almost a partnership isn’t it?
Sandi: Exactly, that’s exactly it.
Toni: So, Sandi, what inspires you? What do you need to be inspired?
Sandi: I need … I need support. I need that support from my team, I need it from my family and my friends, and I am very blessed that I have it from all of those areas. I need to be surrounded by people who believe in me as much as I believe in myself. I’ve always … I’m an only child, and I’m very independent, and I’ve always pushed myself when I find an area that I’m very interested in. And what I need is just the people, to be surrounded by the people who help inspire me and encourage me to challenge myself to continue down the path that I’ve chosen for myself.
I think with my clients, them just giving me that room to work with them more in a partnership as opposed to being an assistant. I, you know, certainly have that capacity to be an assistant to somebody, but when they are looking for more of that partnership, it inspires my creativity, especially when I know that they are really counting on me to help them come up with new and creative ways to build their business. It really sparks my creativity, and the inspiration is abundant at that point.
Toni: When you find yourself on a given day — and maybe this never happens to you — but if you find yourself waking up one day and going “Ah, you know, I could use a little inspiration here,” you know, where do you find yourself going? What do you look for or possibly reach for on a consistent basis?
Sandi: Reach for books. I definitely reach for books, and it does depend, because I certainly do get those days. Some days it’s just a matter of popping open a book like a Stephen Covey book. I have his … one of his books was based on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and it was … it’s little tidbits every day of the year. Or one of my clients gave me a calendar that was written by a fabulous lady who she’s made me familiar with, I think her name is Marianne Williamson, and each day has an inspirational quote.
Sometimes it’s just that … to either lift your spirits or get your focus, your clarity, and sometimes it might just take me, something … doing something simple as, you know, sweeping the floor, you know, taking my mind, taking that pressure off of me and doing just a menial task. And it’s like I’ve sort of cleared up the cobwebs in the process and regained my focus, so it varies.
Toni: You mentioned when you describe what you need to be inspired is that you also are looking for people to believe in you the way that you believe in yourself. And that’s a really important statement because a lot of people that are listening or reading this interview may not have a strong sense of self-belief, so how did you get there? Was that something that evolved with you that you can state it the way that you did that “I want people to believe in me the way I believe in me” – that’s a very powerful statement.
Sandi: It is, and it isn’t easy to come by. It did evolve with me. I was always very shy and not very self-confident as a child, but the part that won out, I think, was the hardheadedness. So what happened for me was that it was, you know, you challenge me and tell me I’m not going to be able to do something, I’m going to show you that I can just out of, you know, sheer spite. And so it just sparked this “Wow, I challenged myself, and I did something that was really difficult for me.
And I’m always … and I’m glad I feel this way. I’m always very good about patting myself on the back. A couple of days ago, I did a huge project that I hadn’t done before from beginning to end. It was something I’d been wanting to learn, and I completed it by myself, did it exactly how it needed to be done, and I sat down and actually congratulated myself afterwards and said “Good for you! You did this. This is a huge undertaking!”
I think that those little moments of reminding you … although of course you need that support, you know, you want those people behind you telling you “good job.” It has to start with you. You have to believe in yourself, and you have to take those moments to congratulate yourself on a job well done, because that’s just as important.
Toni: Absolutely. So Sandi, how do you explore your own potential in order for you to continue to do what you do?
Sandi: I read books, self-help books of all kinds, business related primarily, things that help me keep focused, try to keep balance to my life, because that, you know, as we all know that’s so important. It’s easy to get yourself burned out. It’s hard to stay inspired when you’re burned out. So I’m constantly reading. I’m always reading about new projects, new ways that things can be done. I luckily work within an industry that is constantly changing, constantly evolving, so there’s always movement, and I love change. I love to stay on board with that. So as things are changing, things are growing, things are evolving. There are new ways to do things.
I am constantly taking classes, reading up on them, you know, trying to follow along and research constantly, so there’s never a dull moment. I don’t let myself get burned out, and I don’t let myself, you know, hit those lows of it just being too much lag time, you know. I like to keep the spark going. That makes a big difference for me.
Toni: It sounds like you have a really wonderful sense of self-care.
Sandi: I try to, and I think you know, I think it’s easier said than done. There are certainly times with my business that I definitely push, maybe push myself too far and work too many hours, but it’s what’s needed at that time for my business. And then what I try to do is before I crack. I try to have some downtime, you know, I try to calendar myself some regular downtime. Or, you know, it might be even as simple as just taking an hour to go get a manicure or whatever I need that is going to help me wind down and disconnect and sort of reset and recharge a little bit if I get too burned out, and like anybody does. You know, it’s the last thing that you want to do is go back to work if you’re completely burned out on work, so it’s definitely a planning process, and it’s a hard line to walk.
Toni: I know from experience, believe me, I get that. But it’s really interesting how that has come out really clearly in your interview how maybe you do struggle with it at times, but it is very important for you to stay inspired but also to explore your own potential. And so on that point, how do you think then that translates into what you do for others? That by being in that mindset, by practicing that, how does it work then? And does it spill over into what you do to inspire others and help them with their own potential?
Sandi: I think that the biggest way that it spills over is my excitement, my energy toward what I do. It’s so clear when I talk to my clients, and particularly when I talk to potential new clients who I might be working with, they really get that from me. They really understand how energetic I am, and how much excitement I have and how much passion toward what I do, and if I were burned out I couldn’t convey that. That wouldn’t come across. People can hear even just in your voice when you’re talking to somebody. People know. They can read you, and if I were burned out on it, they wouldn’t be very enthused to work with me. They wouldn’t be very excited about my ideas, but I’m so excited about it I think it gets them excited about it, too.
Toni: Fantastic, what a great point to make that in order to help others we have to help ourselves first.
Sandi: Absolutely we do.
Toni: Absolutely. Well thank you so very much, Sandi, for agreeing to be part of the Project today. We will have a way for people to see what you do and be able to get a hold of you at the end of the interview, and really thank you so much for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Sandi: Thank you so much, Toni, I really appreciate you talking with me today.
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For more information about Sandi Silva: www.DynamicSupportSolutions.com
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